Novgorodian-Danish War

The Novgorodian-Danish War was a military conflict waged for 21 years between Novgorod and Denmark. A conflict between two major Christian powers, it pitted Orthodoxy against Christianity. Grand Duke Alexander Nevski of Novgorod conquered Denmark's lands in Estonia in the first years, and in 1276 Denmark decided to send envoys to make peace with Novgorod.

Background
Denmark once controlled present-day Estonia from the cities of Reval and Narva, two cities isolated from the rest of Denmark's empire. They were the only bastions of Roman Catholicism in the northern Baltics, as they were completely surrounded by pagan Livonians and the Orthodox Christian Novgorod, both of whom were very powerful. King Abel I of Denmark did little to defend these territories, so Grand Duke Alexander Nevski of Novgorod set out to take over the lands.

War
In 1255, Novgorodian nobleman Volchok Kiselev and an army of 536 troops laid siege to the Danish stronghold of Narva, held by Captain Haldor and 226 Danish troops. The Danes took the attack as a declaration of war, as the Novgorodians had already forced a small Danish force to retreat without actually engaging in battle. The Novgorodians stormed the city with a catapult and a ballista, breaking down the walls and taking control of Narva.